CD Projekt Red Associate Game Director Paweł Sasko recently revealed that the company’s first foray into the world of Cyberpunk 2077 was not dystopian enough after he visited multiple cities in California.
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), CD Projekt Red
During a recent appearance on CD Projekt Red’s AnsweRED Podcast, Sasko and number of other CD Projekt Red executives were discussing the company’s expansion to Boston as they work on a follow-up to Cyberpunk 2077 codenamed Orion.
Sasko announced in 2022 that he and a number of developers for this project were moving to Boston. He posted on X, “I’m moving to Boston together with the core team responsible for Cyberpunk 2077 to establish new studio and be the foundation for the North American team.”
I’m moving to Boston together with the core team responsible for Cyberpunk 2077 to establish new studio and be the foundation for the North American team.
Working together with the Vancouver crew and the devs from Warsaw we are going to deliver you a banging next game! 🔥❤️ pic.twitter.com/1UYEzQFCSW
— Paweł Sasko (@PaweSasko) October 4, 2022
While discussing this move to Boston, Sasko explained how it will allow the developers to be fully immersed in American culture, where Cyberpunk 2077 takes place.
Sasko stated, “Being from Europe is like interesting. I sometimes feel like I’m in a camera and some other reality and just observing and taking snapshots.”
He then recalled, “Like, I remember us traveling a couple of times to, you know, LA, San Francisco when working on Cyberpunk and then after we sort of did the game, we shipped it, and I did even more traveling now when I’m in U.S. I see that we didn’t push the envelope far enough in some places.”
As an example, he pointed to the homeless crisis in California, “For instance, let’s say the homeless crisis, you know, and so on. Like when I look at it, I’m like we weren’t like far enough in ’77. We thought that we were like dystopian, but we just touched the surface.”
Screenshot from Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), CD Projekt Red
Executive Producer Dan Hernberg, who is working with Sasko on Project Orion then added, “You’re like, we had one homeless person in a tent somewhere. Yes! And an American’s like, ‘Wow! That’s like, you know, nothing. Like, you need a whole city, you know.'”
“So it is very different in some of these areas where even when I played Cyberpunk, that you kind of see these things like that. And you’re like, ‘Wait.’ Someone’s like, ‘Oh, that’s really bad.’ And you’re like, ‘No, that’s barely scratching the surface of the differences. These subtle differences.'”
Sasko then replied, “Exactly. We thought like, ‘Oh yeah, we are being edyg, you know, with all that stuff.’ And I’m like my walk to the train every day is more edgy sometimes.
Screenshot from Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), CD Projekt Red
As noted by CNN in July 2023, “California has spent a stunning $17.5 billion trying to combat homelessness over just four years. But, in the same time frame, from 2018 to 2022, the state’s homeless population actually grew. Half of all Americans living outside on the streets, federal data shows, live in California.”
In fact, the outlet claimed at the time that “more than 170,000 unhoused people” live in California alone.
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), CD Projekt Red
What do you make of Sasko’s comments regarding the game not being dystopian enough after visiting a handful of California cities?
